All Hades Breaks Loose
by OptimusPrime2017
Summary: There's a boy, no a satyr-demigod. When Grover Underwood finds him and escorts him to Camp Half-Blood, no one knows that he's the son of one of the Big Three. Who's his father? How powerful is this demigod? DISCONTINUED
1. My Bus Driver is a What?

**OptimusPrime2017 presents to you,**

 **A Percy Jackson fanfic;**

 **All Hades Breaks Loose**

 **A/N: Hey guys, before I get into this one, I thought I should tell you a couple of things. One, I am still in the middle of reading the last book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Last Olympian. So, hit me in the head (Not really!) if I mess any ages up or whatever. Second of all, this story will be in first person point of view, like the series is. Thanks!**

 **Chapter 1:**

Have you ever been told that you're a half-blood? What about a satyr? If anyone's ever told you that, I saw forget all about it and live a normal life. Have a happily ever after story. Like the mortals. Unlike me.

My name is Zoltus Burns. I am half goat, waist down. A satyr. Half satyr anyway. I'm fifteen years old, have black hair, have reddish eyes.

Not the typical boy, right? Yep, not normal.

Anyway, right now, I happen to be at my school, Jackie Academy. It's more of a private school for boys really. If I were at a normal school, I'd be in tenth grade. High school. But this isn't a normal school. Like I said before, I'm not normal, right? Besides being half-satyr, I have dyslexia and ADHD. Which means, I can't stay still and reading is a pain. One reason why I fail all of my homework assignments. Well, I'm okay at math, I guess.

So, like I said, I'm at school right now. I'm standing next to my friend, Grover Underwood. He has curly hair with a rasta cap on to of his head. He's more of a nervous guy, but he's alright. The only friend I've got. Anyway, he seems as if he's been through a lot in his _short_ lifetime. He has scars on his face and arms as if he's been in battle before or something. Like he's fought through the longest war in history. But, I don't judge him by his scars.

"Hey, man, look." Grover tapped me and pointed to something new on the bulletin board in the hall. "Something new!"

He got up and staggered over to it in his strange walk.

I groaned. "I'm not even going to try to read that."

The new paper on the board looked like an advertisement for something, based on all of the pictures of happy people and the bright colors.

"There's a field trip today." Grover sounded cheerful.

"On the last day of the year?" I asked, choking back half of a bleat.

Yep, I said a bleat. I'm half goat, remember? I bleat like one too! Thankfully, it usually sounds more like a nervous laugh or something like that. Hard to put into words.

"Yep!" Grover smiled. "Zoltus, you mike make it through the day!"

I made a sound of some sort that sounded like some kind of a mix between a laugh, a snort, and a bleat. "You know I've never ever made it through a year before, man. No way today will be perfect either."

"Don't know until we find out." He let out some kind of his own nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, right." I muttered. The bell rang and I jumped with an alarmed bleat. "We gotta go!"

We raced down the hallway, my hooves threatening to come out of the fake feet in my shoes. I prayed for them not to. We pulled in front of a door and raced in. I slid on the tile floor, letting out a surprised yell as I crashed into Grover.

"Ow!" He complained.

"Sorry." I said.

"To your seats, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Burns." Our math teacher, Mr. C said. "You're late already."

"Y-sorry!" I tripped over someone's book as I struggled down the aisle to my seat.

*X*

Class went well. When we got to our second period, history, our teacher told us that we were going on some kind of field-trip. Turns out Grover was right. We loaded onto the yellow buses and began driving away. I sat next to Grover, though we didn't talk much.

The two buses stopped in front of a museum of some sort. We were told to eat the food we'd brought now, before the tour.

I sat down on a block of cement and pulled my lunch out of my torn-old backpack. I opened the paper bag, taking the PB and J sandwich out. I took a bite, chewing slowly.

"Not so bad, right?" Grover asked from next to me, where he chewed an apple.

"Not yet." I said with a half-hearted shrug.

We finished eating in silence and then got ready for the tour. We walked through the building seeing all kinds of stuff, of none which were very interesting to me. About an hour or longer later, we emerged from the building. We were allowed free time to hang out for a bit. While Grover and I were talking, the bus driver Mr. Brown, came up to me.

"Hey, Zoltus, I'd wonder if I can have a word with you?" He asked.

"Uh...sure." I replied.

"Great!" He smiled. "Let's talk in the museum, okay? Meet me there."

I watched him walk into the museum. I sighed.

"Better go catch him, man." Grover suggested.

"Yeah, yeah." I grumbled.

"Oh, hang on a sec!" Grover reached into his bag. He pulled out a pen. He tossed it to me and I caught it. "If anything _strange_ happens in there, click it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'll let you find out." He told me. "Don't keep Mr. B waiting!"

I nodded, stuffing the pen into my pocket. Then I swung my backpack over my shoulder and walked into the museum.

"Mr. Brown?" I said. "Mr. Brown?"

I heard what sounded like a lion's roar. I'm not telling you the lion exhibit has come to life, though I wish it were only that. This is much worse, trust me. I glanced to my right and saw it. It was a male lion with giant bat wings and a scorpion tail. A manticore, if I remember correctly. It roared at me.

"Mr. Brown?" I asked, really wanting to take that pen from my pocket.

"ROAAAAR!" It bared it's sharp teeth.

I slipped my hand into my pocket and took out the pen. I clicked it and the pen transformed into a two foot long blade in my hands. A sword.

The manticore growled and snarled. Then it roared again and leapt at me. I rolled aside, turned around and stabbed the sword through the top of its snout from the inside. Then I frowned as I saw that my arm was bleeding and felt the pain.  
Lion tooth. Ouch. I guess those hurt. Worse than dog teeth, I tell you now.

I pulled the sword out of the monster's mouth and watched the creature disintegrate into dust. Gone, like it was never there in the first place. I shook my head, confused. Then I looked at the sword, trying to figure out how to turn it back into a pen before someone saw it.

I spotted a skull and bones symbol. The symbol of death. It was engraved into each side of the blade. I ran my hand on it. If history class taught me anything this year, wasn't this a symbol of Hades, the god of the Underworld?

Someone screamed and I jumped, startled. I looked up to see a middle-aged woman staring at the sword.

"Sword in the museum!" She yelled. "Security!"

"What? Security?" I said, confused.

Then I realized what was happening. Great, I was going to look bad now because I had a sword. I sighed, racing out the building entrance, trying not to hit anything or anyone with my sword.


	2. Grover Thinks I'm a Son of Hades

I reached Grover and stopped. The yells of the security men were getting closer. I shook my head in disbelief, absolutely confused.

"How do you close this thing?" I asked.

"Poke the right eye on the skull!" Grover whispered harshly.

I held out the handle in front of me and gently touched the skull's right eye. The sword shrank back down into a pen, leaving me staring at it.

"Thanks." I said. "How did you know this thing was a...was-"

"A sword?" Grover finished. "I just know stuff like this. I'm a genius, okay? What happened in there, man?"

I shook my head and shrugged. All I could make out was,"Mr. Brown...manticore."

"The bus driver is a manticore? Great." He sighed. "You stab him?"

"Yeah...he's a pile of dust now." I said.

"Good." Grover heaved a sigh of relief. "That's really good, man." Then he froze.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Blah-hah-hah! Security!" He looked me in the eyes. "Meet me at the Empire State Building, okay?"

"Y-why?" I asked.

"Just do it!" Grover told me. "Two o'clock!"

"Okay." I said.

"Now go, before they catch you!" He said.

I nodded. Then I turned and dashed through the crowd of curious students following the security dudes. I stuffed the pen back in my pocket as I ran, tightening the straps of my backpack.

Being a satyr, these jeans were not comfortable on me. Made it hard to run, especially run like normal people. Not like I have a choice at the moment.

I rounded a corner, glancing at my watch as I did. It was 1:49 PM. Eleven minutes to meet Grover at the Empire State Building. I saw that it was still a block and a half away. I cursed under my breath as I slipped around a woman and her German Shepherd.

I rounded the next corner. Now it was 1:56. I had half a block to go and only four minutes left. My shoe slid sideways on my hoof and I tripped, faceplanting. I sat up, rubbing my forehead. I shifted the shoe back into place and got up, my goat legs aching.

"Blah-hah-hah!" I bleated, shaking my head.

I ran my hand through my black, ruffled hair, feeling my short horns poking out of my skull. I saw the security guys rounding the corner, looking very angry and exhausted. Their faces were all red and sweaty. I mean, very sweaty. My watch told me that I had to go. Three minutes!

I let out a bleat, dashing down the street. I stopped at the entrance of the Empire State Building. A white van stopped and the back door opened. Grover looked out.

"Get in here!" He said.

I nodded, scrambling in and closing the door. I buckled up quickly after my hands fumbled with the seatbelt. I took a minute to catch my breath as we drove through the streets of Manhattan.

Then I got my first look at the driver. He had blonde hair, but that was the only normal thing I saw. The rest of his body was pretty much covered in blue eyes. My jaw dropped and I rubbed my eyes.

"So…" I said awkwardly. "Where are we going?"

"Long Island Sound." Grover said. Then he gazed towards the driver. "Want me to tell him exactly…?"

The man gave a nod, as if saying _go ahead_.

"Camp Half-Blood." My friend said. "It's where demigods stay."

"Demigods?" I asked. "Like people who are...half-god?"

"Half Greek god, yep." He nodded.

"Are you a demigod?" I asked.

Grover almost looked offended. "No...I'm a satyr."

"Really?" I looked at him.

He took off his cap and I saw his long horns that were an inch or two above his curly hair. "Yeah…"

"Why am I going to this camp?" I asked. "I'm not a demigod, am I?"

Grover shrugged. "Maybe. I know you're a satyr for sure though. I would've heard you a mile away when you tripped on the sidewalk back there!"

"Heh...right." I was at a loss for words. "How did you know I'd need that sword."

"Satyrs can smell monsters." He looked me in the eye. "The word monster was written all over Mr. Brown."

"Hmm...thought he smelled weird." I said, unhelpfully. I took the pen out of my pocket and tossed it to him. "Here."

"Keep it." Grover tossed it back. "Only gods and…"

"And what?" I asked.

"Only the gods and a child of Hades can wield that sword." The driver said.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

He didn't answer, but Grover did.

"That's Argus. He's the head of security back at camp." My friend explained.

"Not surprising." I commented, frowning as an eye on the back of the man's neck glared at me. "Why doesn't he talk much?"

"Some tales say he has an eye on his tongue." Grover shrugged. "That would make it hard to talk."

"Oh." I said. "So, you guys think that I'm a son of Hades because I can use that sword?"

"Yeah." Grover nodded. "It was once Hades' own sword. No other demigod other than his own children can wield it, like Argus told you. We won't know for sure until your true father claims you though."

"Claims me?" I repeated. "How?"

"The gods sometimes claim their children with some kind of a sigh. Each god has a different sign." Grover told me. "Poseidon shows a trident over the head of his children."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Seen it myself, man." He said. "Seen more than I'd ever wished actually."

"You know a son of Poseidon?"

"Blah-hah-hah! You can meet him yourself later!"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just go to Poseidon's cabin or his table at dinner." Grover told me.

"Poseidon's cabin?"

"You'll understand more when we get there, okay?"

"Sorry."


	3. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood

Argus stopped the van at the base of a hill in the middle of a forest on Long Island. Grover and I scrambled out, two satyrs side by side.

"Blah-hah-hah! Thanks, Argus. You know, for the ride." Grover smiled at the hundred-eyed man.

The man nodded.

Grover and I scrambled up the hill, towards a large pine tree. We stopped to catch our breath. I realized that I was looking through some kind of a barrier. Down in the valley, there was, well there was a lot.

"Whoa!" I said.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Zoltus." Grover patted my back. Then he complained. "Man, I hate these shoes!"

I muttered in agreement.

We walked down into the valley after taking our shoes off. I stuffed mine in my backpack carelessly, glad to have my hooves free.

"But I can't be a half-blood." I argued as we walked.

"Ever wonder why you have dyslexia? You're brain is hardwired to read ancient Greek!" Grover explained. "And your ADHD, well, that's your battle reflexes. Come on, I'll take you to Chiron."

"Chi-who?" I asked. "That centaur legend guy? That was three-thousand years ago!"

"He's immortal, dude." Grover told me as we reached the flat area below. "Don't worry, he's nice."

"This is a lot to process…" I muttered.

*X*

We reached a large, barn-like building. It looked old and beat up. Grover had called it the Big House a minute ago. We walked in and the first thing I saw was a man sitting in a wheelchair, facing us.

"Grover." The man smiled. "Took you quite a while to bring him here."

"Well, we had some, er, problems at the museum." Grover shuffled his hooves.

"Ah." The man nodded understandingly. Then he turned to me. "Hello, young one. I'm Chiron, the activities director here at Camp Half Blood."

"Hello." I replied, feeling nervous for some reason. I reached my hand out to shake his. "Zoltus Burns."

We shook hands.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Zoltus." Chiron smiled. "You're probably wondering why you're here and what this place is."

I gave a half shrug. "Grover explained a bit on the ride. I'm guessing I'm here because I'm half satyr?"

"Partially, young Zoltus." Chiron said. "Well, as Grover may have told you, you are part demigod as well."

"He said that he thinks I'm a son of Hades." I admitted, not believing it.

"You wielded the sword, yes?" He asked.

"Yeah. The sword saved my life from the manticore." I told him.

"Blah-hah-hah!" Grover spoke up. "Percy-I mean, Zoltus, sorry, remember what I told you on the ride? Only the gods and a son of-"

"Hades can wield the sword." I finished. "Yeah, kind of hard to forget now. Thanks for rubbing it in."

"And it closed when you touched the right eye." Grover reminded me. "You have to be a son of Hades."

I shook my head.

"We'll find out whenever his father puts a claim on him." Chiron said.

" _If_ ever." The satyr muttered.

"What do you mean ' _if_ ever'?" I asked.

"Half the kids at camp are in the Hermes cabin because they've never been claimed." Grover told me.

"So, I go to the Hermes cabin until I'm claimed?" I said.

"Unless you'd rather stay with the satyrs." Chiron shrugged.

"Doesn't sound so bad." I tried for a smile. I took the pen out of my pocket, clicking it. I ran my hand along the blade. "The Sword of Hades?"

Chiron nodded. "Yes, that is the Sword of Hades."

I poked the right eye and the sword returned to pen form. "You'll keep this?"

"No." He shook his head. " _You_ will keep it, my boy."

I frowned. "But I don't need it anymore."

"It'll come in handy." Grover promised. "Keep it, man."

"Alright." I sighed, shoving the pen back into my pocket. "What happens if I l-"

"Lose it?" Chiron finished. "You can't. It'll always appear back in your pocket."

"Like Percy's sword!" Grover jumped, his hooves clattering as they hit the floor.

Chiron nodded. "Yes, my young satyr. Just like Percy's sword."

"Is it true that Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so." Chiron nodded again. "He saved Olympus just two years ago, when he was sixteen."

"So he's three years older than me now?" I mused. "He's eighteen. I'm fifteen."

"Yep!" Grover bleated. "I'll introduce you to him now, if you want."

He looked a Chiron, as if asking for permission to leave.

"Go ahead." The activities director smiled. "It'll be good for him."

"Let's go!" Grover said to me.

"Okay." I nodded in agreement.

*X*

Grover had brought me to the cabin area. There were twelve, one for each god of Olympus. Exceptions for Hades, of course. There was no Hades cabin. Grover had given me a tour on the way, so I was understanding a bit about this place now. We stood in front of what looked like Poseidon's cabin.

"Percy?" Grover called, walking inside.

I followed him.

"Hey, G-man!" A cheerful voice came.

"Hey!" Grover bleated. "I got a newbie here for you. He might be a son of one of the Big Three. Wanted to meet you."

He turned and beckoned to me.

I stepped up to a boy with sea green eyes and ruffled black hair.

"Hey." The boy reached out his hand. "Percy Jackson."


	4. The Story of Dreza, a Female Satyr

"Zoltus Burns." I introduced myself, shaking his hand.

"Grover said you're new here?" Percy asked.

"Uh, yeah." I nodded uncomfortably. "I am."

"Welcome to camp." He smiled, a friendly look in his sea green eyes.

"Thanks." I gave a small smile of my own.

"How'd you get your name?" Percy asked me. "Are you a son of Zeus?"

"Oh, no, not Zeus." I assured him, holding my hands up. "Thank the gods."

"Has your father claimed you?" Poseidon's son asked.

"Not...exactly." I said, trying to find out how to put this. "I used Hades' sword. H-he can't be my father, can he?"

A strange look came in Percy's eyes. I couldn't tell if he was surprised, angry, or confused. His brow furrowed in concentration. "Well...Hades does have at least one son."

"Nico di Angelo." Grover spoke up, reminding me he was there.

"Yeah, Nice." Percy nodded. "I-I've never heard of him having any other kids. If you are his son, then that means that Hades has broken the oath as well."

"Oath?" I raised an eyebrow.

"A long time ago, the Big Three swore an oath with each other to never have children." He told me. "If you are the son of Hades, then all three of them have broken the oath now."

"So, if he's my father, I shouldn't be here?" I summed up my thoughts in that.

"Don't worry." Percy said, sounding not too happy either. "I'm the son of Poseidon, remember? He broke the oath to have me. I saved Olympus two years ago. Sometime mistakes happen for a good reason."

I nodded, understanding. "I know."

Grover cleared his throat. "It'll be dark in a few hours, guys. Better find Zoltus here a place to spend the night."

"He can stay with me." Percy offered. "I don't get much company without Tyson here."

"But, uh, Percy, isn't that agains-"Grover reminded him, though he got interrupted.

"Against the rules?" Percy finished. "Yeah, it is. But, we sort of know who his father is and, hello, the god of the dead doesn't have a cabin."

"Right." Grover muttered. "Just don't tell Chiron that he's in here. And what about dinner? Is he going to sit at Poseidon's table too?"

The demigod's face fell. "Uh, well, I forgot about that. Maybe we'll have to make arrangements with Chiron. The Hermes cabin is overcrowded anyway, right?"

"Blah-hah-hah!" Grover bleated. "Of course it is, Perce! I forgot to mention something…"

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Zoltus isn't just a demigod or son of the Big Three." Grover shifted his hooves uneasily. "He's half-satyr."

The son of Poseidon looked at me, studying me carefully. I saw him look toward my hooves and a shocked look covered his face. "Wow! That's...interesting."

"Yeah." Grover agreed. "Didn't know it was possible."

"Do you remember your mother?" Percy asked me.

I thought hard. The most I could remember was that my mother had hazel eyes and dark brown hair. I didn't remember what her voice sounded like, what her name was, or anything else.

"Not really." I confessed. "I can barely remember what her face looks like."

Percy glanced at Grover. "Any idea who it was?"

"I only remember there being one _female_ satyr." The satyr said. "Remember Dreza?"

"Yeah, of course." Percy nodded, then he winced as if remembering a painful memory. "Can't forget her…"

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"KIA." Grover said. "Killed in action."

"What was she like?" I asked.

"Hazel eyes, dark brown hair…" Percy told me, sadly. "She had a voice like music, about as tall as Grover."

"No, her voice was music." Grover corrected lightly. "She said that Pan created her out of his own magic, long ago. She was immortal too, somehow. Now, she's gone."

"How can someone immortal die?" I asked, confused.

"Her immortality had been fading for the last year and a half." Percy answered. "I don't know how or why, but it was. We were coming back to camp with her for the first time when a hellhound caught up to us. I could've stopped it, but it hit me too far away to get to it. It almost hit my Achilles' spot. She died in that fight. Grover did what he could, but it was too strong. If I hadn't got to him in time and killed it, he'd be dead too. I failed her. I couldn't lose Grover too."

" _We_ failed her." Grover murmured. "Curse the hellhounds."

"I hope you don't mean Mrs. O'Leary." Percy said.

"All of the other ones, I mean." The satyr said. "One of Pan's greatest creations, killed by a hellhound."

"You said she had hazel eyes and dark hair?" I remembered. "T-my mother looked like that. Do you think-"

"Yeah, I think that Dreza was your mother." Percy nodded, solemnly.

I glanced out the door. It was pretty dark outside. "When's dinner again?" I asked as my belly rumbled.

"Any time now." Grover said, perking up at the mention of food.

As if he'd reminded the camp, a conch horn sounded.

"Come on." Percy gave a small smile. "Let's go eat."


	5. The First Night at the Camp

I sat down beside Percy at the Poseidon table. He'd talked to Chiron, who took a lot of convincing before he finally agreed. Percy handed me a plate and walked towards the campfire with his own.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"C'mon." He said.

I followed him over to the campfire. He scraped a chicken wing into the fire and muttered what sounded like "Poseidon." He walked back towards the table. He probably thought I knew what to do. I used my fork to push a large piece of steak into the fire.

I didn't really know what to say, but I found myself muttering, "Hades". Then I headed back to the table, sitting down next to Percy again.

He gave me a smile through a mouthful of a strawberry.

"Percy, why are we burning food?" I asked.

"To honor the gods, of course." He said after he swallowed. "Every night, part of our meal goes in there. It's an offering, really. An offering to our parents."

I nodded, understanding. I took a bite of my salad, only to stop mid-chew as I heard what sounded like a hoof stomping on the marble pavilion floor. I turned to see Chiron standing next to a man I didn't know.

"Tomorrow at dawn, there is a chariot race." Chiron said. "I expect all of your chariots are ready now. Mr. D will continue with the rest of the news."

The other man, Mr. D, as Chiron called him, cleared his throat. "We have a new camper, Zack Bunny."

I felt myself blush. Out of anger or embarrassment, I didn't know. But I knew that he was talking about me. Zack _Bunny_. Why am I a bunny?

Most of the kids looked at me and I suddenly wished I was invisible.

"That is all now, eat so you can leave and I can stop looking at these annoying heroes." Mr. D grumbled.

The kids began talking again and I took a self-conscious bite of steak. "So...does he ever get names right?"

"Nope." Percy sighed. "I think he does it on purpose, though."

"That explains a lot." I muttered, swallowing. "I don't like him."

"I don't like him either, but just don't make him angry." Percy warned. "Mr. D is a god. The God of Wine and Madness. Dionysus."

"Why is he here?" I asked, leaning across the table, my voice a whisper.

"Because it's a punishment." He shrugged. "That's all I'll say about it. If you want to know more, ask him yourself."

Percy took a bite of his food. I nodded, taking a bit of mine as well.

*X*

By the time the conch horn blew for us to head off back to our cabins, I was very wary every time someone other than Percy looked at me. They probably thought I was a demon or something, by the color of my eyes.

Percy and I walked side by side until we reached the cabin. He walked into Poseidon's cabin first, climbing to the top of one of the two bunks.

"You want bottom bunk or the other bed?" He asked as he plopped down on top.

"I'll take the other one." I said, still not sure who I could trust not to kill me in my sleep.

"Okay." Percy raised his hands, not looking too offended.

I climbed to the top of the other bunk, rolling onto my back. I sighed, letting myself relax. This was the first time on a bed since I could remember. Last time was when I was a little kid. After living in the streets most of my life, this felt great. I felt Percy's gaze burning into my skin.

"You haven't been on a bed in awhile?" He guessed.

"Not since I was a little kid." I admitted. "Been living on the streets on Manhattan all my life."

"Yeah?" Percy asked through a yawn. "Well, sleep tight, man. See you in the morning."

"You too, Percy." I said, passing out before I could yawn.

*X*

I stood on a sandy beach in my dream. Closer to the water, a man with sea green eyes, black hair, and a beard stood. Next to him was another man with black hair and electric blue eyes.

"Zeus," The first man spoke. "You have realized that we are slacking on our most recent oath."

"I know!" Zeus, the second man, spat angrily. "Brother Poseidon, your boy doesn't give me orders. We have our usual jobs to do too."

"Yes, I know." Poseidon said calmly. "But you have seen the Hermes cabin at Camp Half-blood."

"They haven't even rebuilt the Hades cabin since those Ares campers tore it down!" Zeus roared and lightning flashed.

"We need to start claiming them again. All of us." Poseidon muttered.

The vision faded.

*X*

My eyes snapped open and I sat up. It was still dark outside. Percy was still asleep on the other bunk. Well, for the moment anyway. Or not…

Percy's eyes snapped open and his breathing filled the room. I saw him looking around, his eyes settling on me. We sat there in silence for a moment, looking at each other while Percy caught his breath.

"Is it normal to have dreams or visions?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Uh-huh." He replied. "All demigods get them. Not everyday, of course, but you get what I mean."

I nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I get it."

"You had one?" Percy asked.

"Yeah." I said. "About Zeus and Poseidon."

I told him about my dream.

"I wondered why they were slacking…" Percy murmured.

"The oath you made the gods, what was it about?" I asked.

"I made them swear on the River Styx to claim all of their children, so that nothing like what happened during the battle would happen again." He told me. "We built cabins for all of the other gods, but Hades' cabin was destroyed by the Ares campers last week. Nico hasn't gotten to rebuilding it yet."

"Nico di Angelo?" I said.

"Yeah, son of Hades." Percy nodded. "Which means that he's your half-brother. And Hazel Levesque is your half-sister as well as his."

"Hmm." I said. "Went from having no family to knowing my mom's dead, my father's a god, and I have two half-siblings. Wow."

"Hazel is in Camp Jupiter in San Francisco." Percy told me. "But Nico is here. He's been staying in the Big House."

"When can I meet him?" I asked.

"Not now!" Percy reminded me. "It's probably the middle of the night."

"Oh yeah." I remembered. "I forgot about that."

He let out a laugh and I had to join in. Then we fell silent for awhile.

"Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Nico and I could get to work on the new Hades' cabin tomorrow?" I asked.

"Maybe." Percy sighed, weariness in his voice. "We should get some rest."

"Yeah, I know." I agreed nodding.

I closed my eyes, falling asleep immediately.


	6. Undead Horses Talk to Us

**Finished reading The Last Olympian last night. So, hopefully, my story should be better from here on out.**

Cold water woke me up. I glared at Percy, who stood over me.

"Sorry, man." He raised his hands into the air. "That was my last resort."

"It's alright." I groaned, wiping water from my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Almost breakfast." Percy shrugged.

I sat up and climbed down the bunk's ladder to the main floor. "Okay…"

"You sleep good for the rest of the night?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, yeah." I nodded. "Thank the gods."

"I talked to Nico a little while ago and he agreed to start building the cabin today. He won't be working though. He's put a small army of _friends_ to work on it."

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. "Friends?"

"Undead skeletons from the army in the Underworld." He explained.

"Oh." I said. "That's cool."

"So, you get the day free today." Percy told me with a smile. "How about after the race I teach you some sword moves?"

"Sure." I agreed. "Sounds great."

"Good to know." He said. "You'd better get dressed for today."

"Well, that's not possible." I muttered. "I don't have anything else besides my shoes in that bag. And my lunch from yesterday…"

"Go to the Big House." Percy instructed. "Chiron can find you something."

"Got it." I said. "See you later, Percy."

"See you at breakfast." He agreed.

*X*

I knocked on the door of the Big House. It opened, Chiron holding it open. He was in horse form.

"Come in, Zoltus." He beckoned.

I walked in and let him close the door. "Good morning."

"What is it you need?" He asked me.

"Just a spare change of clothes for today, if you don't mind." I said. "Percy said you could help with that."

"And I can." Chiron said. "Wait here."

"Okay." I said.

He trotted down a hall. I heard him rummaging through something. After a few minutes, I decided to sit down in one of the stuffed armchairs.

"Well, well." Said a voice I hadn't memorized yet. What do we have here? Hades' son?"

I looked in his direction. "Lord Dionysus…"

"Hmmph." Dionysus said. "Fast learner. How was your night with Peter Johnson?"

"His name is Percy Jackson." I corrected.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes.

At that moment, Chiron cantered back into the room. I sighed in relief. I wanted to get as far away from Mr. D as possible. The centaur handed me a pair of clothing.

"You had better go get changed, my boy." Chiron said. "See you at breakfast."

*X*

I sat at the Poseidon table in my beige trousers and orange Camp Half-blood t-shirt. I chewed on my pancake. The chariot race was going to happen right after breakfast. Percy had paired up with Annabeth. He said I could ask Nico though.

I spotted a black haired boy at a table on his own. "Percy."

"Yeah?" He looked at me.

"Is that Nico?" I asked, pointing towards the boy who looked to be around sixteen years old.

"Yeah. That's Nico." Percy nodded. "You can go meet him now, if you want. Besides, you actually should be at his table."

"Right…" I nodded. "Alright, Percy."

I picked up my plate and walked over to the Hades table. The boy looked up at me, half-glaring.

"It's Nico, isn't it?" I asked.

"Mhm." The boy replied through a mouthful of bacon. He swallowed. "What do you want?"

"I'm Zoltus, your half-brother…" I told him.

"Ah, Percy told me about you." Nico said. "Sit down, if you want."

I sat down across from him. "You have a partner in the chariot race later?"

"Not yet." He admitted. "You want to be my driver?"

"Sure." I accepted his offer with a small nod.

"All you have to do is steer the thing." Nico told me. "Not that hard."

"Got it." I said.

"Also, our horses are undead horses." He smirked. "From the Underworld, of course."

"Interesting…" I said. "Anything else?"

"Don't crash us into anything."

*X*

Nico stood in the middle of our chariot, holding a sword and a shield, wearing full battle armor. I suspected that our ghostly gray chariot had more surprises waiting to be sprung onto the opponent chariots. I stood at the wheel, gripping it tightly as I looked over the heads of our two skeleton horses. One of them let out a harsh neigh. Hades' chariot was ready.

I steered us onto the track, making the horses stop at the starting line. The other chariots lined up beside us. I spotted Percy and Annabeth on theirs.

 _We never get to see anything fun besides races!_ One of our horses complained.

"Quiet, Windsong!" Nico ordered the horse.

 _Aww, but-_ Windsong tried to complain.

"I said be quiet." Nico snapped.

 _What about me?_

"You too, Fastfire." He said.

 _Ugh, fine._ Fastfire whinnied.

"Uh…" I said.

"Not used to hearing horses talk?" Nico asked.

"Not really, no." I admitted. "Though I probably should be, noting the fact that I'm half satyr."

"Yeah, satyrs can communicate to, like, every animal I can think of." He said. "Every _normal_ animal, that is. Not to mention, if you're my half-brother, hearing undead animals talk should be normal."

"Never met an undead animal before." I muttered.

"That would explain a lot." Nico commented. "You ready up there?"

"Yeah. You?" I told him.

"Of course." He said with a creepy smile. "Always ready."

I had to wonder what he had in mind. What kinds of things were in this chariot? Well, I'd find out soon enough.


	7. I Save A Centaur's Life

"Remember, you must complete two whole laps to win. Killing results in a punishment!" Chiron shouted. "Good luck to all contenders!"

The conch horn blew and I shouted "Go!" at Windsong and Fastfire. They reared to life and began galloping down the track. I heard Nico clash swords with another fighter. I didn't look away from what I was doing though. We couldn't afford to crash. For the moment, we were in second place.

A scream came as Nico knocked the other fighter from his chariot. I heard something that sounded like fire burning.

"What's that?" I shouted.

"Greek fire!" Nico replied. "I threw it on the Apollo chariot!"

I sighed in relief. It probably would've been bad if it was on ours. The two undead horses galloped in sync, not breaking pace. Suddenly, that all went downhill when the one of the left tripped.

 _Oof!_ Windsong staggered and almost fell over.

"Keep going!" I shouted at him.

 _Yes, sir! I'm fine!_ The skeleton horse replied, his speed increasing until it matched Fastfire's.

I almost fell over as the Ares chariot crashed into the side of ours. I spotted Nico getting to his feet and punch the Ares fighter in the face. He flipped over the side of his chariot and fell into the dirt with a cry.

"Nice one!" I called to Nico.

"Keep going! We need to shake them!" He shouted back.

"Speed up!" I told the horses.

Fastfire whinnied as the two of them sped up to what looked like their max speed. We zoomed around the next turn and crossed the finish line. Only one lap to go.

I heard combat on the back of our chariot. The Ares driver had a javelin. SHe stuck it in our rear wheel, which let out a splintering sound. Then I heard her scream in surprise as her chariot tipped over on the next turn.

"Careful!" Nico warned. "The wheel won't hold up much longer!"

"I know!" I replied, gritting my teeth. "Fast an easy, okay guys?"

 _No prob._ Fastfire said sarcastically.

 _Easier said than done!_ Windsong neighed.

We rounded the next turn. One curb to go before we'd win. I risked a glance backwards. Most of the chariots had overturned. Only three were still moving. The Poseidon/Athena chariot and one other.

I looked forward again, just in time to swerve our chariot around a camper who laid on the ground injured. A loud crack sounded and suddenly I heard the sound of something dragging on dirt.

"That was the wheel!" Nico shouted.

I spun the steering wheel so hard and quick on the last turn that I almost thought we'd flip over. Luckily, we didn't and kept going, still losing speed by the second. Fifty feet left. We could do this. I hope.

"Almost there!" I informed my half-brother. Then I yelled to the horses. "Full speed!"

They sped up a little bit, stumbling over their own hooves. I could hear their raspy breathing. I saw the line on the ground. So close. Then we raced past it. Cheering erupted from the crowd of campers watching.

The horses slowed down to a trot and then stopped, panting. I climbed out of the chariot, feeling a little nauseated and dizzy.

"Good job, you guys." I said, patting each of the horses in turn. "You deserve a good rest."

"Nice steering." Nico said from behind me.

I turned to face him. He had a few cuts on his face and chestplate, but other than that, he looked okay. I smiled.

"Nice fighting." I told him.

"Teamwork, yeah?" Nico said, holding up his hand for a high-five.

"Yeah." I agreed, high fiving him.

Percy and Annabeth pulled to a stop beside our chariot and hopped out, walking over.

"Nice job!" Percy complimented.

I blushed.

Before anyone could say anything, a loud battle cry came from outside the borders, followed by a neigh. Someone killing a horse? I wish it were only that. I uncapped my sword and raced over in the direction it was coming from. I saw a young centaur fighting off a medium-sized Cyclops. And the centaur was losing.

The Cyclops shoved him to the ground and was about to crush him with his club. I raced through the barrier, thrusting my blade into its leg. It roared in pain. Then, just like the manticore, it dissolved into a gray dust. I let out a sigh of relief.

The raspy breathing of the young centaur reminded me he was there. I turned to him. He wore no shirt, but instead a wooden chestplate that as broken in several places. He had crew cut, caramel brown hair, though it was disheveled. His eyes were blue, like the sky. His body was covered in horrible, bloody cuts. Even his dark brown horse body and its black lower legs. His black tail flicked in pain and nervousness. The worst cut of all though, was straight across his ruined chestplate. Blood leaked from the hole in it and from another hole.

"Are you alright?" I asked, shocked.

"What is your name, demigod?" He asked.

"Zoltus Burns." I told him. "Yours?"

"Ja-" He coughed loudly.

"Jack?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Jafin."

Then he coughed again and his eyes closed. I saw that he was still breathing, relieved that he'd only passed out.

"Oh no, not Jafin." Chiron murmured with worry when he reached my side.

"You know him?" I asked.

"Of course." He nodded solemnly. "He is my brethren, after all." Chiron picked up the young centaur's javelin. "My relatives, they must be in trouble."

"He needs medical care." I said, looking at Jafin. I had a strange feeling as my hand touched his forehead. Not just a feverish feeling. This _feeling_ was in me. I immediately knew what it was. "If he doesn't, he'll die. He's dying now, slowly though."

"How do you know?" A camper asked.

"You really are a son of Hades." Chiron said, looking at me in admiration.

A young Apollo camper stepped forward. "I can help him." The boy knelt down beside the unconscious centaur and began singing a hymn in Ancient Greek. After a minute, he stopped. All of the wounds on the young centaur's body were gone. His chestplate was still torn and clumped of horse skin showed on his lower body, but the wounds had closed to scars. The Apollo boy glanced at a nearby satyr. "Play something on your pipes. Wake him."

The satyr nodded and began playing a quiet, lively tune. After a few moments Jafin stirred, looking wary after what had just happened. He got to his feet, though his horse legs were shaking. The satyr stopped playing on his pipes, shoving them into his pocket.

"Thank you, demigods." Jafin said gratefully, glancing over the group. "I owe you."

"You owe the campers nothing, Jafin." Chiron stepped forward.

"Brother Chiron." The younger centaur looked troubled. "It is good to see you. May we speak in private? Bring the boy."

"Which one?" Chiron asked.

"The one that killed the Cyclops." Jafin pointed at me.


	8. I Get a Prophecy

Chiron pulled me onto his back and the centaurs galloped back inside the magical barrier, towards the Big House. We reached it in less than a minute and I slid to the ground. Chiron and Jafin walked inside. I followed them, staying out of the way so that I wouldn't be accidently trampled under their legs.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Chiron asked.

"The New York chapter, we were under attack." Jafin said slowly. "I came to warn you."

"Under attack by what?" The activities director asked.

"A pack of wild hellhounds." The younger centaur said. "There were more than five, but less than twenty of them. That, I know for sure. But these wild hellhounds were being led by two Cyclops. I tried to come to warn you, but one of them followed me."

"Strange…" Churon murmured.

"Indeed." Jafin agreed.

"Why did you ask to have me here?" I spoke up.

"If you can kill a Cyclops, young demigod, then maybe you and some of your friends can help us. Defeat the hellhounds." Jafin said. "If it's okay with Chiron here, you can come back with two friends of choice to New York. What do you say, boy?"

"If Chiron is okay with it, I will come." I accepted the offer.

The older centaur stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I think...that this would be a good learning experience for you. I agree that you should go."

"It is decided then." Jafin said, a small cheeriness to his voice.

"When do we go?" I asked.

"As soon as possible." The young centaur decided. "But first, you must choose your friends."

"And approach the Oracle." Chiron added. "Wherever she may be right now."

"Go to her first." Jafin told me. "Then get your friends and come straight back here. UNderstand, demigod?"

"Yes, I understand." I told him. "Where would I find the Oracle?"

"Rachel should be around here somewhere." Chiron said. "Probably upstairs in her room. Go to her and she will give you the prophecy for this quest."

I stood there, not moving.

"What?" Jafin asked.

"Chiron, what does Rachel look like?" I asked.

"Oh, right!" He shook his head, clearly annoyed with himself. "Red hair, green eyes. Shouldn't be too hard when there's not to man red haired campers."

"Got it." I said with a small nod.

*X*

I entered a room on the second floor of the Big House. The room was decent size and decorated with paintings. A red-headed girl stood painting on a canvas.

"It's Rachel Dare, yeah?" I asked.

"Yes, I am Rachel Dare." The girl said, not turning away from her painting. "Need something?"

"You hold the Spirit of Delphi, correct?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"I do." Rachel said, turning towards me. "What is it you seek?"

"I have come for my prophecy." I said.

Her eyes began glowing a different shade of green. Like, neon green or ghoulish green. A haunting green.

" _One shall make an enemy of someone close,_

 _He shall learn of the one who knows,_

 _Darkness shall lead a hero to a final breath,_

 _Shall he fight to the death."_

Rachel's eyes returned to their natural color and she gazed at my shocked expression. My legs felt like jelly underneath my body. I stumbled and found myself leaning against the wall.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I...they...we." I couldn't form a complete thought, so I shrugged helplessly.

"You're new here, aren't you?" She asked me. "What's your name?"

"Zoltus." I said, my voice shaky. "Zoltus Burns."

Rachel studied me. "You're the boy who saved the centaur."

I nodded.

"Is that why you're here?" She asked. "Getting a prophecy before you leave to help him?"

"How do you…" My jaw dropped. "How do you know?"

"It's actually very predictable." She shrugged. "You killed a Cyclops in one hit."

"Y-you have a point." I said with a small smile. I took a couple of steps back. "I'd better be going. I've got some work to do."

"The prophecy, what was it?" Rachel asked before I could leave.

I told her and she looked puzzled.

"I have to go." I told her. "Nice meeting you."

I dashed out the door.

*X*

Jafin looked up as I descended own the stairs. "How did it go, demigod?"

"Well, I got the prophecy." I forced out. "Now for my friends…"

"Come, it'll be faster if you have a ride." He said, opening the door and walking out. "Trust me."

I followed him and let him put me on his back. "Okay…"

"Where to first?" Jafin asked.

I thought hard. I wanted to bring Nico, but he'd have to make sure the cabin was to be completed. Percy would probably want to stay to be with Annabeth, besides they've seen enough action in the last few years. Grover was probably glad to be back with Juniper. And, I didn't really know anyone else. Might as well ask them anyway though.

"The Hades cabin." I finally said.

"On it." Jafin said, letting out a neigh as he began galloping towards the cabins.

Within a few minutes we were in front of the main structure of the Hades cabin. I spotted Nico watching the skeleton warriors of the Underworld work, in silence. I climbed off of Jafin's back and walked over to him.

"Hey, Nico." I greeted him.

"Hey." Nico replied. "Crazy day, huh? These guys are making good progress though."

"Yeah, definitely crazy." I agreed. Then I cleared my throat. "I received a quest."

His gaze snapped towards me. "What kind of a quest?"

"I'm going with Jafin to help the New York chapter centaurs. Just gathering some others to come with me." I explained. "You want to come?"

"I can't." He shook his head. "I have to watch the construction of the cabin. Maybe Percy or Annabeth will join you."

"Okay, thanks." I said dejectedly.

I walked over to Jafin.

"Any luck?" He asked.

"He's not coming." I told him. I turned in the direction of Poseidon's cabin. "Gonna ask Percy real quick."

"I will be waiting, young demigod." Jafin told me.

I walked up to the Poseidon cabin. It was baby blue, the trimming white. I admired it before advancing to the doorway.

"Anyone here?" I called in.

"Hey, Zolt." Percy said, looking up from whatever he was doing. "What do you need?"

"Do you have time for a quest?" I asked.

"Maybe." He replied. "Where are you going?"

"New York." I explained. "The centaurs of the state are in trouble."

Percy stood up, looking grim now. "I'll come. I won't let anything happen to New York or the centaurs there."

"What about Annabeth?" I asked. "Could she come too?"

"I'll have to ask her." He said. "I'll do that now."

"Okay." I agreed. "I'll be waiting out there."

"Okay." He nodded.

Percy hurried out, dashing across the basketball court into Athena's cabin. I walked out of the Poseidon cabin and headed towards Jafin, who raised an eyebrow at me. I gave him a thumbs-up to show that I'd gotten Pery to agree.

I reached him and gave a smile. "He agreed. He's going to see if we can get another friend to come."

"Good." The centaur said, his tail flicking.

I could tell that he was worried about the other centaurs in New York. This was probably taking longer than he'd expected.

"Don't worry." I said, trying to lift his spirits a bit. "If everything goes well, they should be out in a minute or two. Then we have to pack…"

Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, I spotted them walking side by side towards us. When they reached us, Percy smiled.

"Let's pack."


	9. I Take A Dog To New York

We were decked out. Not literally, of course. What I meant to say is that we're packed and ready to go. I had a backpack flung over my left shoulder full of dramachas, mortal money, nectar and ambrosia, extra clothes, and all the other essential basics. I had my sword in pen form, hiding away in my pocket. Percy and Annabeth had the same things, along with a few of their own belongings. Percy had his sword-Riptide and Annabeth had an invisibility Yankees cap. Chiron had even had some of the campers pack a bag for Jafin! We were ready.

"Where's the hellhound?" Jafin asked.

"Mrs. O'Leary?" Percy asked.

He nodded. "I want you three to shadow travel to New York on her."

"Got it." He agreed, nodding in understanding.

He whistled and within a minute, a huge hellhound came racing over, her tail flying around wildly.

"After you." I said jokingly to Annabeth.

She rolled her eyes and got on the hellhound after Percy, leaving me on the back.

"What about you?" Percy asked Jafin. "How will you get to New York?"

The centaur smiled. "I have my own ways, demigod."

He just nodded, then whispered something in the hellhound's ears. Then he said something like,"Take us to New York."

We entered a cold, darkness. We may have only been in it for a few seconds, but I felt a lot. It felt like my face was peeling off!

I'd never been happier in my life to see daylight after all of that. We emerged from the shadows. The sunlight burned my eyes, making me squint. I was back in New York.

I nearly fell off Mrs. O'Leary in surprise when another hellhound came out of the shadows next to us. Jafin's arms were around its neck. He wasn't on it because, well, I guess it's fair to say that horses don't ride dogs. The centaur dropped to the ground just as we got off of Mrs. O'Leary.

"Whoa!" I said, patting the other hellhound's snout. It growled at me and I pulled away. "How'd you get this one?"

"I had that brother of yours summon it from the Underworld for me." Jafin told me.

"Wow." I said. "Cool!"

"Alright, so where are we going now?" Annabeth piped up.

"Right." Percy remembered. "Where's the New York chapter's camp?"

"It's north of here." Jafin said. "Centaurs can travel fast, luckily."

"But there's only one of you." I pointed out.

The centaur shook his head, pointing towards the trees behind him. Two more centaurs emerged from the shadows of the trees.

"Let's hurry, Jafin." One whinnied.

Jafin nodded in agreement. I climbed up on his back, while Percy and Annabeth got onto the other centaurs.

The three centaurs began galloping along at the edge of the trees towards their camp.


	10. I Promise to Help the New York Chapter

The centaurs ran straight across the state. When they finally stopped, we were in a forest. The forest looked like it'd been invaded by German soldiers from World War II or something. Branches and leaves littered the floor. Many of the trees were knocked over. The centaurs carefully moved through the wreckage, towards the center of the forest.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Hellhounds." One of them answer, distaste in his voice. "At least half of us were killed defending our camp. There isn't much left now."

We entered a small clearing. There were giant huts-the kind you'd see in museums, just bigger. About three-quarters of them were destroyed, their contents littering the forest floor. The New York centaurs were treating wounds and rebuilding. Jafin let me down, as did the other two centaurs for Percy and Annabeth.

"Did you destroy all of the hellhounds?" Jafin asked a white stallion bodied centaur.

The centaur shook his head. "No, Jafin. We did not. There were still seven left when they ran away. So many losses…"

Jafin lowered his head sadly. "Our brothers. Gone."

"Jafin." Another centaur looked up from his destroyed hut. "Good to see that you made it back."

"Thank you…" The centaur replied quietly. Then he looked thoughtful. "There were so many hellhounds. There couldn't have been that many wild ones, could there?"

"Are you saying that Lord Hades set them loose on us?" Another centaur demanded.

"Maybe." Jafin shrugged. "It is hard to be certain."

"Hang on." Percy spoke up. "Why would Hades set loose a whole pack of hellhounds to kill you?"

"Demigod," The white stallion cleared his throat. "You may have saved Olympus two years ago, but you do not know Lord Hades very well. He is a tricky one to figure."

"Even we do not know this, Percy." Jafin answered the question. "That's what we need to know."

"Do you think they'll come back?" Annabeth suggested.

"I hope not." A black mustang whinnied. "It would mean the end of the New York chapter."

"And we can't have that." Jafin agreed. "That is why I went to Camp Half-Blood. You three demigods need to help us."

"What can we do?" I asked.

"Anything." The centaur Annabeth had rode told him desperately. " We need all the help we can get."

"I'll help you in any way that I can." I vowed. "I promise."


End file.
